


The First Time That I Saw Your Face

by Loor



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Concert, F/M, First Time Meeting, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-10
Updated: 2015-01-10
Packaged: 2018-03-07 00:50:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3154628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loor/pseuds/Loor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emmah goes to a One Direction concert. Fluff ensues</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Complete and utter fluff sprouted from my mind. Written as a birthday+Christmas gift for a wonderful friend.

Where to look first? The rest of the audience? The amazing lighting? The stage where her favorite band would step onto any moment now? There was so much to see and Emmah wanted to take it in all at once. It all seemed very surreal. 

“I still cannot believe we are actually here, Lauren!” Emmah voiced her thoughts to the girl standing next to her. As an answer a big grin crept on the girl’s face.

For a moment there came no verbal reaction. Then the laughter erupted from Lauren’s face. She came closer and pinched Emmah in the arm.

“Auw, what is that for?” Emmah wanted to know, a frown present on her face. The spot where Lauren just pinched her hurt and she hoped it would not become a bruise in the morning.

“That is to convince you that you are actually here!” Lauren stated with a laugh. Right at that moment the lights when out and she quickly added “Now shut up and enjoy the show! I did not pay all this money for these tickets for you to be dreaming all night!”

Emmah didn’t say anything, but a big smile appeared on her face. After a moment of slight hesitation she pulled Lauren in a tight hug. Lauren’s laugh was lost in the screams that erupted when One Direction ran onto the stage and waved to the crowd.

The band was flawless of course. They sounded amazing and they looked even better. The show was the biggest Emmah had ever been too. Music blasted from the speakers, there were huge screens to make sure everybody could see the guys, fireworks and confetti seemed to be blasted from everywhere. 

And then the moment came that Emmah had been looking forward to since the moment she heard Lauren had gotten them tickets to come see One Direction: You and I. Or well, more the intro to You and I. The moment where the show slows down and the boys explain that this is a love song and how they need to find love for Harry and Niall. 

The joke was old and it had been a running gag ever since the tour started. There were plenty of Youtube videos about it from previous shows. But no matter how many videos she watched, it always made Emmah smile. Because they always seemed to find girls that deserved to be on stage. Shy girls, that for one night got to be the center of attention. The smiles that lighted their faces when they were up there were some of Emmah fondest memories of this tour. 

So of course she was eager to see who would get picked out tonight. She focused on one of the screen above her head as the camera followed Louis running into the crowd. 

She was so focused on the screen that she didn’t even realize he was coming into the direction where she and Lauren were standing. It was only when Lauren grabbed her arm and pointed out Louis smiling, sweaty face only a few yards away from them that she realized he was a lot closer then she had expected. 

A woosh of air could be felt as Louis ran past them and Emmah heard Lauren let out an exciting squeal. The sound made her smile even bigger. Lauren always claimed that she wasn’t really a fan of the band and that she was only here because she had gotten Emmah the ticket as a gift and didn’t want the girl to have to come on her own. But it definitely seemed like she was having a really good time after all. Emmah made a mental note to tease her about it later and then turned her attention back to the direction Louis had run.

She was just in time to see him suddenly stop dead in his tracks and turn around. Before anybody could register what was happening, he came running in Emmah’s direction again. And then he stopped right in front of her. 

From the corner of her eye Emmah could see her face appear on the big screens all over the venue and even though she figured nobody would pay attention to her, she still felt a blush creep onto her face. The next moment, Louis grabbed her and made her realize he was actually there for her and not for the stranger next to hear. The blush on her face doubled in intensity, especially when Lauren squealed into her ear in excitement.

“So, what do you think about this darling, guys? Wouldn’t she be a great fit to be Harry’s date for the night?” Louis asked as he turned around to address the other four boys on stage.

In unison four heads turned to the big screen besides the stage, where a close-up of Emmah was shown for everyone to see. Their reactions were all quite different and yet the same: a huge grin spread across Liam’s face, Niall nodded enthusiastically and Zayn wolf whistled. And Harry, much to Emmah’s surprise, didn’t say anything, but instead stood there staring at her face and blushing profusely.

Louis’ grin is matching Liam’s when he turned back to Emmah. “So, what do you say?” he wanted to know. “Interested in meeting Harry from up close?”

Emmah could see the security guards already coming closer. And of course she couldn’t blame them. In all those videos she watched on YouTube from the previous shows, she never had seen anybody who doubted when asked that question. But as the saying goes, there is a first time for everything.

So instead of happily accepting the chance to share a moment with Harry, all of Emmah’s insecurities surfaced, making her feel like she had no right to be on that stage. Trying to explain this to Louis, she stuttered, “I don’t… Maybe that’s not a good… Harry is great, but… There are other girls…” Everything Emmah wanted to say to Louis to convince him she wasn’t the right girl to be on that stage, it all got stuck on the tip of her tongue. 

Luckily, there was Lauren’s reassuring presence next to her and relief washed over her as the girl stepped closer to talk to Louis. The relief was short-lived though, as her friend put on her best smile and informed Louis, “She would love to!”

For a moment Emmah only stared at her friend in surprise. She could not believe Lauren had just said that. And she grew slightly annoyed when she mouthed a ‘what the fuck?’ in her direction and Lauren simply smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

Emmah knew Lauren didn’t mean any harm, that she just wanted make sure Emmah would not regret her decision later on. But she also couldn’t believe she just said this to Louis. She knew Emmah hated to be the center of attention. They were twins in that respect. 

And as that last thought crossed her mind, Emmah suddenly had an idea that might just help her to stay of the stage and safely in the crowd. Plastering a grand smile on her face, she moved closer to Louis and spoke clearly in his microphone, “You’ll have to do me a favor though. I’ll come and dance with Harry, but only if Niall gets to dance with her.” She pointed towards Lauren when she spoke the last word. 

Murmurs, oehs and ahs could be heard from the crowd, but when Emmah sneaked a peak at Lauren, the girl had her pokerface on. It probably should have instantly worried Emmah.

Louis grinned in his microphone, but before he could actually say anything, Liam’s voice resonated through the boxes. “Oh, I’m sure our little Irish bro would love that!”

Emmah and Louis turned to the stage in unison and found Nail practically hiding his head in his hands. The part that was still visible was bright red.

With a grin, Louis turned to Emmah again. “Seems like Niall pretty up to spending some time with your friend!” Swiftly moving on to Lauren, he continued, “What about you, are you up for it?”

Lauren didn’t immediately answer, making Emmah feel confident that Lauren was trying to find a way to say no to Louis. When she finally did speak up, however, she did not gave Louis the answer Emmah was expecting. Instead, she simply looked right at Emmah and said, “Okay.” 

The crowd cheered as the simple word rang through the venue and before Emmah had time to protest, security was hoisting her over the barrier and the next moment they were following Louis to the stage. 

“What the hell?” Emmah hissed to Lauren as they followed after Louis.

Lauren simply smiled at her, shrugged again and answered, “Live while you’re young. That’s how the song goes, right?”

Emmah smacked Lauren in the arm. “You idiot! Seriously, why are you doing this? You don’t even like the band that much. And you hate to be the center of attention!”

“And you,” Lauren pointed towards Emmah to emphasize her words, “You have always dreamed of meeting Harry and being close to him.” With a mischievous smile, she added, “I’m just taking one for the team here.” 

“But what the hell am I supposed to say to him?”

That question caused a knot in Emmah stomach, but it simply made Lauren laugh out loud. She accepted a hand from Louis to help her get on stage. While she did so, she turned back to Emmah and said, “You know as well as me how this goes, there won’t be much talking. He’ll sing, you guys’ll dance a bit and you get to hold him close. So just enjoy it while it lasts!”

Lauren has clearly decided that this was the end of their conversation, the end of Emmah’s arguments. When she got on stage, she turned her back to Emmah, put a smile on her face and walked over to Niall.

Emmah would have been mad at her, but she knew that in the end, Lauren only did it to do good. Besides, she was momentarily distracted by the hand that was extended to pull her onto the stage. Or rather, the person that hand belonged to. Because it was Harry Styles himself that helped her out. 

Emmah stared at the extended hand for a second, then searched Harry’s face. She found sparkling eyes and a smile that practically took over his whole face. And in that moment she decided that she Lauren was right. She should just enjoy this while it lasted. This was a chance she would never get again. 

So she put on a brave smile and grabbed Harry’s hand. She was rewarded with a hug as soon as she was standing on the stage. She savored the feeling, as a moment later Harry had let go, but grabbed her hand again and was dragging her over to where Lauren was standing with the other boys.

They were just in time to hear Lauren answer Zayn’s question. “I’m Lauren and that is my best friend Emmah,” the older girl announced to the entire venue. 

“Such a pretty name for such a pretty girl!” 

Harry had clearly gotten over his moment of shyness. His words made Emmah blush and she found herself unable to look him in the eye. Instead, her attention was on Niall, who exclaimed, “Oh, I totally agree, Haz!” Only he was clearly staring at Lauren, who, much to Emmah’s delight, also started blushing as Niall grabbed her hand and planted a featherlight kiss on it. 

The flirtatious banter had clearly begun, as Harry wasted no time and kissed Emmah’s cheek. “It’s very nice to meet you,” he stated, although barely audible above the screams of the crowd. As usual, everybody ate out of the boys’ hands, even though everybody had probably seen this part of the show a million times on video already.

The music started playing then, and Emmah realized that during all the silliness from the two single boys, the other three had taken the opportunity to carry two small loveseats onto the stage, the same ones she had seen in so many videos before. Harry led her over to one of the two while Niall did the same with Lauren and at the same time was singing the first verse. Flawlessly of course. 

When they sat down, Emmah realized the seats were even smaller than she had thought. She knew from the videos that she had seen that the girls that were picked out of the crowd always got to huddle close to the boys. But tonight apparently was different. Because somehow, Harry made sure that Emmah wasn’t just sitting close, but literally in his lap. 

She didn’t get much time to get used to the idea. Because Niall had finished his part, Liam sang a few lines and the next thing she knew, Harry was crooning the chorus. Eyes only focused on her and one arm tightly around her waist. As Emmah managed to make eye contact with the beautiful boy she was sharing a seat with, she reminded herself of two things. A: breathe! You need to breath! And B: She needed to thank Lauren later for pushing her limits. 

As the song continued on, Harry ushered her to stand up again. For a moment Emmah irrationally feared that he was going to send her away already, but he simply pulled her close again when he was up as well. He put her arms around his neck as one of his sneaked around her waist again. And then they were slow dancing. Slowly moving across the stage while Harry sang all his parts as if he was whispering in her ear, for only her to hear. It was the most beautiful version of the song she had ever heard and even before it was over she was sure a better version would never exist.

Eventually Harry searched for eye contact again. It caused Emmah’s shyness to kick in again. While Harry did his best to find her eyes, she did everything she could to avoid his. But the boy in her arms was having none of her attitude. When she refused to look at him, he put a few fingers gently under her chin and forced her face in his direction. The feeling of fingers dancing across her skin finally convinced her to look up. And when she did and her eyes met Harry’s, she instantly knew she was not looking away again. 

Emmah’s time on the stage was short-lived, as the song only lasted for a couple minutes. But being there with Harry, locked in his embrace, it felt like pure bliss. She figured that if heaven existed, this is what it would be like. 

When the song eventually ended, Emmah found herself still staring at Harry and him very much staring back at her. Just as the last note died out, Harry’s forehead touched Emmah’s. Neither pulled away and that was when Emmah felt it: that spark that she had spend nights telling herself about. Trying to convince herself that would never ever happen for her and Harry. But then again, she had also never expected to be there with him on that stage. 

It wa Zayn who eventually brought the couple back to reality. “Ahum,” he announced rather loudly through his microphone. The word made both Emmah and Harry jump and suddenly they were a foot apart again. “It’s been very nice meeting you, Emmah. So I hope you don’t mind, but we really need to continue with the show.”

Zayn emphasized his words by motioning to the side exit of the stage. When Emmah followed the line of his motion, she noticed that Lauren was already standing there. The shit-eating grin on her face told Emmah that she would be teased about this for days to come. Not that she really minded, her moment with Harry had been well worth whatever was coming her way now.

She nodded to Zayn, signaling she understood. She shot a bright smile in Harry’s way, along with a mouthed ‘thank you!’, getting the most breathtaking smile in return. While trying to memorize every little detail of that smile, she walked to Lauren so the boys could continue with the rest of their show.

Louis and Liam gave her a small wave, but she didn’t miss how Niall completely missed her exit because he was busy still staring at Lauren. It caused Emmah to singsong, “Looks like someone’s got a little crush!” as soon as Lauren was in speaking distance.

“Says the girl who practically sucked Harry Styles’ face on stage!” Lauren immediately shot back while the security started ushering them off the stage. 

Emmah gasped in mock surprise. “Watch your language, young lady!” she told Lauren, though unable to hide her smile. “And I would never do such a thing!”

“Oh please, I’m five years your senior. Sadly my days as a young lady are long gone.” Lauren immediately countered as they disappeared completely from the stage. “Besides, I have every right to say so, because you totally did! I’ll show you the videos later on, I’m sure there will be plenty on YouTube when we get home!”

Before Emmah could let their playful argument get any further, a voice from behind her suddenly called out, “Hey Emmah?”

Emmah and Lauren turned in unison to the direction the voice was coming from and saw Harry Styles running in their direction. 

“Harry? Shouldn’t you be on stage?” Emmah questioned. Her surprise clearly won over her shyness in this situation.

Harry took a brief moment to catch his breath and then he said, “Well… You see, I kind of think you seem pretty cool. And I would love to get to know you better… Or at least spend some time more time with you. So this guard has to escort you back to the audience now, but I was hoping that maybe if you don’t have any plans yet for after the show that maybe we could meet up again later?” The words came out so fast Emmah barely understood them. And her heart might have fluttered just a bit when she noticed Harry was blushing.

A small, hopeful smile made way across her face as she answered, “Uhm, sure I guess. But how you going to find me again?”

“Just wait out there,” Harry quickly said, motioning towards the venue. “Wait until everybody is gone. I’ll send someone to come and get you.”

Emmah had to admit she was impressed. Harry had clearly given this some thought in the barely one minute that they were standing there. So she tried her best to ignore the kissy faces that Lauren was making behind Harry’s back and said, “Sure. I’d love to hang out with you. I’ll be waiting after the show.”

“Awesome!” Harry nodded enthusiastically. Relief flooded his face, as if he really thought Emmah was going to decline his offer. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I really have to get back onto that stage!”

He quickly gave Emmah a hug and a barely there kiss on the cheek. When he spun around again, he caught Lauren right in the middle of another kissy face. He ran past her as if he hadn’t noticed. It was only when he was almost on the stage again that he turned around one more time and yelled in their direction, “Oh, and be sure to bring along her, because I still owe Niall a favor!” 

The girls barely had time to process his words when he had already disappeared onto the stage again, leaving behind Emmah laughing out loud next to a very dumbfounded Lauren.


	2. Chapter 2

As expected, the rest of the concert was absolutely amazing. Even Lauren, who had seen countless shows from countless bands, admitted that they put on a fantastic spectacle.

All too soon, unfortunately, the show came to an end. Or maybe not soon enough. Emmah wasn’t really sure which one applied best to her current situation. Because she wanted to see Harry again. But at the same time she was a bit nervous. The thought that it maybe all had been one big joke nagged at the back of her mind. 

The feeling only got stronger when the show ended and people around them started to leave. Emmah felt pretty ridiculous to stay behind as the venue cleared out. 

The venue owners seemed to share Emmah’s opinion, as ten minutes after the concert the cleaning crew came out, together with a sturdy looking guy who Emmah thought she remembered seeing earlier that night when entering the venue. “I’m sorry, but I really have to ask you to leave now, young ladies,” he told them. “These people want to start cleaning up.”

“I understand, sir,” Lauren was quick to answer him as politely as possible. “But we were the girls that were on stage earlier tonight. And you see, Harry asked us to stay and wait here. He promised to send someone to come pick us up.” She shot the guy her brightest smile, but he didn’t seem particularly impressed by it. 

“Sure, miss, whatever you say. But that doesn’t change the fact the show ended ten minutes ago and –“ In the middle of his sentence the guy stopped talking. The girls noticed his attention was suddenly focused on something behind them. Curiously, they both turned around.

“Emmah and Lauren?” The girls eagerly nodded as the bulky guy who had directed them of the stage earlier that night addressed them. “Harry send me out to come and pick you up.”

Emmah smiled politely, but almost had to laugh out loud when she noticed the smug look Lauren gave the guy they had just been arguing with. He clearly didn’t know what to say, mumbled something and then turned around without another word. The girls didn’t bother being insulted and quickly followed behind the band’s security guard. 

As they walked through the backstage to the band’s dressing room the girls didn’t say much, but looked around curiously. Neither of them had been backstage at such a big venue before. 

“So, not that it’s any of my business, but I hope you don’t mind me asking what makes you girls so special? Cause this tour has been on the road for two months now and this is the first time that the boys actually decide to ask the girls from on stage to meet them again.”

“Oh, but you were there! It wasn’t the band’s decision, it was Harry who invited us here. Or well, he actually invited her,” Lauren teased.

“Us. He invited us!” Emmah was quickly to correct. In the same teasing tone as Lauren had used, she added, “We are clearly only here because Niall fancies Lauren.”

“Well let me tell you, you can say a lot of things about Niall Horan, but not that he has bad taste in women. So yeah, by the looks of you I’d say your friend’s statement is entirely plausible.”

The security guard only just managed to avoid bumping into them as the girls both stopped dead in their tracks when they heard a voice coming from not too far away. A voice they both recognized very well. 

Their suspicion was confirmed when they turned a little to the left and came face to face with a familiar friend of the band. For a moment nobody said a word. Then Lauren seemed to find her voice again and blurted out the first thing that must have come to her mind, “Oh my god, you are Ed Sheeran!”

Ed didn’t seem surprised or annoyed by her reaction. He laughed out loud and jokingly confirmed, “Yep, that’s me! The one and only!”

“God, it’s such a pleasure to meet you! I love your music, you are absolutely amazing,” Lauren stated enthusiastically as she walked over to Ed.

A bright, but shy smile appeared on Ed’s face while Lauren gushed about how much she adored him. “Thanks so much!” he told her. It was definitely the most genuine Emmah had ever heard an artist be.

When Lauren was finished praising him, she suddenly seemed to be a bit at a loss for worse. Emmah knew Lauren and she knew she wasn’t just suddenly starstruck. Lauren confirmed her assumption when she asked Ed with a blush on her cheeks, “I’ll probably sound ridiculous, but would you mind signing something for me?”

Ed’s high-pitched laughter filled the hallway. “It’s not ridiculous at all!” he assured Lauren. “Whenever I dare to go outside for a walk or whatever, dozens of people stop me to ask the same question. But maybe I should take you to the guys’ dressing room first? We can have drink and chat a bit. It’s cozier in there to wait for the boys too.”

Lauren turned around for Emmah, who nodded in agreement. “Sure, sure. That would be great.”

The girls said their goodbyes to the security guard and followed Ed through the hallways. He clearly had been in this venue before, as he effortlessly navigated them to the boys’ dressing room. It was still empty when they arrived and Ed informed them that the boys were taking a quick shower. Emmah did her best to not let her mind wander to an image of a bare-chested, wet Harry Styles. Instead she focused on Ed and answered she would like a glass of Sprite when he asked what they wanted to drink.

When he had provided Emmah with a glass of Sprite and handed Lauren a glass of diet Coke, Ed asked, “Now, what do you want me to sign.”

Emmah watched Lauren’s reaction from a slight distance. She giggled as the older girl didn’t immediately know what to answer to Ed’s question. “Uhm… I hadn’t actually thought about that…” she mused out loud. Emmah could see the gears in her head turning, before she eventually made a decision. “You can just sign my ticket? After all, it is thanks to the boys that I am meeting you.”

“Okay, hold on a second,” Ed said. As Lauren rummaged through her purse to find her ticket again, Ed went to grab a sharpie marker from a backpack laying in the corner of the room. 

When Lauren handed him the ticket, he placed against the wall. Emmah watched from afar as he started scribbling on the back of the ticket. He wrote a few lines, signed his autograph and then handed the ticket back to Lauren. A blush appeared on the girl’s face as she read the note Ed had written her. Emmah made a mental note to make sure to ask her about Ed’s message later on. 

“Would you mind to take a picture too?” Even though Emmah didn’t really understand why, Lauren sounded shy when she made the request. Ed seemed to have taken an liking to her, there was no way he was going to deny her the picture. And indeed, he responded with a happy “Of course not, darling. Let’s make some memories here!”

Emmah smiled as she watched the two people in front of her turn into complete goofballs after Lauren had pulled out her phone. Sticking out their tongues, making silly faces, those selfies were definitely going to be an interesting sight. 

At the moment that Ed insisted he needed a picture of them too, pulled out his own phone, went to stand close behind Lauren and rested his head on her shoulder, Emmah felt two hand rest on her own hips. In surprise she almost jumped, but the hands put enough pressure to keep her steady. 

“I’m so glad you came,” Harry whispered in her ear as he was pressed up close against her back.

Emmah did her best to ignore the chill that went through her spine at the feeling of Harry’s breath against her ear. “I did it for Lauren. And for Niall,” she teased the boy. She was happy to hear that her voice sounded steady.

“Oh, I’m sure you did,” Harry responded with a grin, obviously not believing a word of what she was saying.

“Hell yes!” 

Practically everybody in the room jumped at the random outburst of words. Everybody except for Lauren and Ed. So of course all heads turned in their direction. Lauren had a radiating smile on her face and Emmah knew her well enough to know that if she had known the people in the room any better, she probably would be jumping up and down. Ed looked a little taken aback. When he noticed people staring at them, he shrugged and said, “I just asked her if she wanted to hear a new song.”

Laughter filled the room and Emmah said, “Don’t mind her too much. She’s 27, but when she is really enthusiastic about something she turns into a 5 year old!” Lauren stuck out her tongue, but didn’t deny the words either.

“So a new song it is then,” Ed confirmed.

While Ed grabbed his guitar, Harry grabbed Emmah by the hand and guided her to a small couch. “Come on,” he urged her on. “I’ve heard this one before and it absolutely beautiful. You’re going to want to hear this!”

“Okay, ladies and gents,” Ed announced, earning a laugh from the band and the girls, who were all spread out in the couches. “This is a new song and it’s called Thinking Out Loud.”

The moment Ed started playing, long before he had even sung a word, Emmah knew she was going to love this song.

And she was absolutely right. Thinking Out Loud was absolutely stunning. The lyrics, the melody, the feeling of an everlasting love, it was perfect. Beauty in its purest form. 

His little audience was clearly pleased with the performance and Ed gave them an extra treat when at the end of the song he suddenly changed the melody. It changed to one that Emmah would have recognized from miles away. Her favorite song of Ed’s debut album. He decided to play Kiss Me.

The mood in the room suddenly became a lot more vibrant. Emmah watched as Niall asked Lauren to dance and she happily accepted. While Lauren put her arms around Niall’s neck, Liam grabbed one of the other guitars that was laying around and started playing along with Ed. Zayn and Louis sat up a little straighter on the couch and quietly started singing back up for Ed.

Harry didn’t move from his position, one arm that had found its way around Emmah’s shoulder somewhere during Ed’s rendition of Thinking Out Loud, giving Emmah that good kind of chills, and the other resting on her tigh stayed firmly in place. He did, however, start singing along with the other three boys. His tone was soft and the words came out so quiet and close to Emmah’s ear that she was sure only she could here. 

Emmah felt like she fitted perfectly in Harry’s arms. And for a moment, nothing else mattered. Any worries she had outside of the venue, outside of the room even, none of it mattered. She was lost in her own perfect little world. She tried to savor as much as she could, because it would all be over soon enough. 

It was perfect. But when Lauren’s phone loudly buzzed with a new message where she had left it on the couch, reality hit Emmah again. She was reminded that this night would end and the big bad world was still waiting for her. And the smile on Lauren’s face, Ed’s perfect voice and mostly Harry’s body pressed against hers and the feeling of his breath on her ear as he sang to her softly, it all became too much all of a sudden. 

Before she could even consciously make a decision to do so, Emmah had squirmed out of Harry’s arms and was on her way to the door. In the back of her mind she registered that the boys stopped singing and the sound of their guitars faded away as well. But Emmah didn’t bother to provide an explanation. She was out the door before they had time to ask any questions.

She walked through the halls as fast as she dared, trying to avoid attracting attention to herself. When she thought she was far enough away from the boys dressing room, she let herself collapse in a heap on the floor. She went from perfectly happy to a complete mess in a couple of seconds, all because she realized this perfect image she has created in her head of Harry and her would not last after tonight. She would go back to living at home, still trying to figure out whether or not to go to college, and never seeing Harry again. Her life felt like a mess and it hurt.

It was in this state that Harry found her a couple of minutes later. Emmah wasn’t even surprised, he obviously would know his way around the halls of this place a lot better than she did. What did surprise her was the way he didn’t hesitate one moment to sit down besides her. As if he felt she couldn’t handle it, he didn’t touch her, he simply sat down next to her on the cold hard floor.

After a few minutes of silence, he quietly asked, “What’s the matter, my darling Emmah?”

Emmah couldn’t immediately reply, his sweet, caring words only made her cry more. 

Harry didn’t push it any further, so for a couple of minutes they just sat there in silence. Eventually Emmah managed to stop crying. She wiped her cheeks on the sleeves of her shirt, took a deep breath and said, “I just needed some space.”

She didn’t need to look to Harry to know that he wouldn’t believe her. She had never been a good liar and the tone of her voice gave her away. So when Harry didn’t respond, she elaborated and confessed, “It all became too much. That song, the whole mood in the room. You singing along. The moment was pretty damn perfect. And when Lauren’s phone buzzed, it made me realize that this night will not last forever. So I needed to get out, cause I don’t want to do things I’ll regret later on.”

“Things like what?” Harry sounded genuinely confused and it actually caused a tiny smile to appear on Emmah’s face. Yet she wasn’t able to look at Harry when she answered, “Things like kissing you only to have you turn me down.”

It was Harry’s snort that caused Emmah to look up with a frown on her face. Laughter was the last reaction she would have expected from Harry. The boy clearly sensed that she was displeased with his reaction, judging by the way he quickly explained, “I’m sorry. Really, I am. I didn’t mean to laugh at you, I have no intention to make you feel bad. I’m just a little surprised. Because in all seriousness, where has your head been this evening? Have you not noticed the way I act around you? Why would I turn you down?”

His words were meant to be sweet, but they did not have the desired effect on Emmah. Instead of making her feel better, they made all her securities surface and turned her into a rambling mess. “Let me tell you why you would turn me down, why you will never want me. One, I’m not pretty enough. Two, I am your senior by quite a few years. Three, I live in Main, which isn’t exactly next door from London. Four, I’ve never had a boyfriend, which you can take as an indication of how experienced I am at… Well at pretty much everything. Five, -”

“Stop. Stop.” Her monologue got interrupted by Harry. She stopped talking but couldn’t find it in herself to look at him again. He was silent for a moment, waiting, and then he asked, “Please look at me, Emmah.”

Reluctantly and slowly Emmah looked away from her hands in her lap and up towards Harry. The boy had a certain sadness in his eyes. He didn’t immediately speak, but let out a sigh instead. To Emmah it sounded like slight disappointment and it almost made her want to cringe.

Eventually Harry grabbed the one of her hands in both of his. When he spoke, his voice was calm and collected. Very kind and loving. “Look Emmah, I’m not saying that we should run off and get married tonight. It’s true that I don’t know you very well. Yet. But I do want to get to know you better. I’m not looking for a supermodel to walk next to me and be pretty. I want a girl that can actually hold up a conversation. I want intelligent and funny and kind. And when it comes to experience, do you think I care about that? You may think I have more experience then you, but it’s certainly not like I sleep with a different girl every night. That’s not the kind of guy I am and I hope you know that.”

Harry paused for a moment, giving Emmah time to let the words sink in. His speech made her feel slightly better. 

When he spoke again, his sentence started with a sigh. “Look, how about we start by just being friends, huh? There’s Skype and texting and phone calls to keep in touch. And when this tour ends in two weeks you can come visit me in London. We’ll take things slowly and see where time leads us, how about that?”

Emmah could tell from the look on Harry’s face that it wasn’t exactly what he had really had in mind. But he was willing to compromise. He wanted to meet her halfway and that was definitely something. So when she looked in Harry’s pleading eyes, Emmah decided that she wanted to give this a try. “I like the thought of that,” she admitted.

“Good,” Harry said as he nodded, clearly glad they had settled that and happy that Emmah agreed. “Good, then that’s what we’ll do. Now how about we go back to the dressing room? I’m sure everybody is wondering where we are. You had us all pretty worried when you ran out like that.” 

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Emmah said as she happily accepted the hand Harry extended to help her up after getting back on his feet himself. “I didn’t mean to worry all of you. I just…. Well, you know.”

“It’s okay. Never apologize for the way you feel!” Harry told her.

Emmah nodded to signal she understood and they started making their way back to the dressing room. Silence hung between them as they walked through the hallways, but it didn’t bother Emmah. Just being here next to Harry made the silence less awkward. It was rather comfortable.

When they made it back to the dressing room, Emmah lifted her hand to grab the door handle when she felt Harry’s hand softly grip her arm. She shot him a questioning look.

He turned her around so that she was facing him completely and then lifted his hand to her face. Emmah felt his thumbs rub the skin below her eyes and realized her mascara had probably run out from all the crying. She briefly wondered how blotchy her skin probably looked, but was quickly distracted by the feeling of Harry’s fingers on her skin. The idea that he actually cared enough to make sure she didn’t look like a complete idiot when she walked into the dressing room again gave her such a warm and positive feeling.

When Harry was satisfied with the way Emmah’s face looked, he moved his hands towards her hair in an effort to restore it to the way it had been before she had crumpled into a mess on the floor. As he was finished, Emmah felt how his hand lingered on the strands in her neck just a bit longer than was necessary. 

As she looked into his eyes, she found him staring at her lips instead of her hair. She opened her mouth to comment on it, but before the words could pass her lips, Harry’s lips were suddenly on hers. 

The gesture completely surprised Emmah. It felt so good that Emmah’s knees buckled. Hadn’t it been for Harry’s arm that had made its way tightly around her waist, she would be in a heap on the floor again. But now it felt more like she was floating inches above the ground. The kiss Harry gave her was enough to make her lightheaded and all warm inside.

The kiss felt like it went on forever, while it actually only lasted a few seconds. It was a gentle, soft, closed-lipped kiss. Yet when they broke apart, they both needed a moment to catch their breath. 

It was Emmah who gained her composure again first. She cockeed an eyebrow while looking at Harry and questions, “Friends, huh?” She did her best to sound reprimanding, but she couldn’t stop a small smile from creeping onto her face.

Harry grinned sheepishly in response, but his lips fromed a genuine smile when he explained, “Friends. But this is a promise. See it as an appetizer for what is to come when you decide that you want us to be more than friends.”

At that response Emmah couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “You are too cute, Harry Styles! I’ll be sure to keep that in mind for later,” she promised. 

Harry nodded happily and grabbed her hand, finally dragging her back inside the dressing room where their friends were waiting. 

“Friends,” Emmah reminded herself when the feeling of Harry’s hand in her own, skin against skin, registered in her mind. Just friends for now, even though she realized very well that these butterflies she was feeling were not going to be very easy to keep in check. Only time would tell how fast they would break free.


End file.
